Sunburn
by KateToast
Summary: Chase gets a bad sunburn in Maui, and Zoey plays nurse. ZC fluff.


A/N: In honor of the upcoming summer season! Pure Maui-fluff.

XXX

"Ow. Ow! OW!"

"Will you sit still, you big baby?"

Zoey was standing, hand on hip, a glare on her face. In her other hand, she held an industrial-sized bottle of green aloe. She looked down at the pitiful person griping and moaning on the chair in front of her.

"I'm sorry… but it HURTS!"

"Well it's your own fault for not wearing sunscreen!"

"Stop yelling at me! I'm in enough pain as it is!"

"I swear…" Zoey mumbled under her breath.

Chase kept squirming, which only caused his tomato-red skin to rub against the chair even more. "Ow!" he shouted for the umpteenth time.

"If you don't stop moving then I can't put the aloe on you, which means you have to suffer even more than you are right now."

With a huge sigh, Chase finally stopped moving and sat still, a grimace on his face.

"That's better." Zoey leaned over him and squirted a bit of aloe in her hand, then gently began rubbing one of his arms. Chase's frown slowly melted into a look of relief as the aloe touched his skin.

"So why didn't you wear any sunscreen when you went to clean the pool?" Zoey asked. They'd been in Maui for weeks, and he'd yet to get sunburned this horribly. Zoey knew her boyfriend burned easily, and had nagged him like his mother about putting on sunscreen before going outside.

"I don't know. I forgot," Chase told her, then he spasmed as she began applying aloe up his other arm. "It hurts everywhere Zo."

He sounded so sad and helpless; Zoey could barely even look into his face. "Well after I get this aloe on you, it'll feel a little better."

"I feel like a little kid."

"You're kind of acting like one," Zoey informed him, raising an eyebrow as her hand moved up to his red shoulder.

"Thank God you're here to take care of me," Chase said with a sigh, letting his head fall back against the chair cushion.

"Well, my mom did always tell me I'd make a good nurse."

They were silent for a moment as her hands, covered in aloe now, worked around his burnt neck.

"Sorry for ruining your day," Chase said suddenly, his green eyes blinking up at her.

Zoey stopped and looked him full in the beet-red face. "You didn't ruin my day. You've made this entire trip the most amazing vacation I've ever had."

"Really?"

Grinning, Zoey tapped his nose. "Really."

"You know, I'm one lucky guy," Chase said.

"Yeah?" Zoey asked skeptically, gesturing to his sunburned skin.

"Yeah. I don't know any other girl who would sit inside on a beautiful day like today - in _Maui_, no less – and take care of her stupid boyfriend who forgot to put sunscreen on. I bet Michael wouldn't even do this for me."

"Well, that's why Michael isn't your girlfriend," Zoey reminded him. "Alright, stand up and turn around. I need to get your back."

Chase got up. As he did so, he said, "How romantic."

"Hey! No complaining from you."

He shivered as her hands skirted along his back, the cold aloe an intense relief on his fiery skin. He thought about the girl who was applying aloe to his sunburned back, about how not even two months ago he'd thought he would never have the chance to be with her. He thought about their trip in Maui so far, and he thought about what the rest of their trip could be like, and he thought about senior year, and about the future twenty years from now, and his heart felt so full he wondered if it would burst.

"I love you," he said spontaneously to the room, not even turning around, the declaration was so sudden.

He felt her hands stop rubbing his back for the briefest of moments, as she was obviously caught off-guard. They hadn't exchanged many _I love you_'s since their first kiss back at PCA; there seemed to be an unspoken agreement between them to let their relationship grow naturally. Neither of them wanted to hurry anything.

"I love you too, bushy-head," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"That's _mister_ bushy-head to you," he said.

"How about I just call you tomato-boy, instead?"

"Ouch! Low blow."

"Hey, I just call 'em like I see 'em."

"If you weren't aloe-ing my back right now, I'd… I'd tickle you or something."

"Ooooh, big threat."

"That's it," Chase declared, and he spun around and immediately starting tickling Zoey.

She shrieked and dropped the aloe. "Not fair! I can't tickle you back!"

"Well maybe I should give you a big hug instead?" he suggested with a smirk.

"No! You're covered in aloe!"

"You better run!"

He began running after her around the room, yelling and teasing. She was laughing, really laughing, and it was the best sound he'd ever heard.

He'd get sunburns every day for the rest of his life if it meant hearing her laugh like that.

XXX


End file.
